Leave the Reserve Bank alone, ANC! 

16 January 2020

The ANC’s internecine battle over the nationalisation of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is economically destructive, alienating to investors, and does nothing to solve South Africa’s current crises.

There should be no debate about the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank. The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) call to the ANC is to leave the Reserve Bank alone, and instead focus on any number of economic crises which are a direct result of bad government policy.

The proposal to nationalise the Reserve Bank is based on economic lunacy. It will bring no benefit, and only increased hardship, to South Africa. If President Ramaphosa has any desire to prove he actually leads his own government, he should end this discussion immediately by reinforcing the independence of the Reserve Bank. Instead, he is kneeling to populists in his party and allowing this debate to continue.

The Finance Minister, Tito Mboweni, is correct - the nationalisation of the Reserve Bank is a bad idea, and should never be pursued.

A DA government would guarantee the absolute, inviolable independence of the Reserve Bank.

While the conditions for South Africa’s economic collapse accelerate, the ANC would do well to listen to its Minister of Finance on this catastrophic move for our ailing economy. This would also ensure the ANC provides less mixed messaging and more concrete plans for South Africa’s economic prosperity.

Issued by Geordin Hill-Lewis,DA Shadow Minister of Finance, 16 January 2020